Behold, thou hast made my days

Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

Hyperion offers both CDs, and downloads in a number of formats. The site is also available in several languages.

Please use the dropdown buttons to set your preferred options, or use the checkbox to accept the defaults.

Don't show me this message again

composer

Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)

author of text

Bible

Psalm 39: 5-7, 12-13

Introduction
English

Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) was the outstanding English composer of church music in the generation following William Byrd, but in his lifetime he was probably best known as a brilliant keyboard player. His anthems belong to either of the two types—the verse anthem (in which short choruses break up the solo passages into a succession of verses) and the full anthem (written for full choir). Setting words from Psalm 39, Gibbons composed Behold thou hast made my days in 1618 for the funeral of Anthony Maxey, Dean of Windsor. This is one of only three of his verse anthems employing a single solo voice, here alternating with the 5-part chorus.

Recordings

Gibbons: Anthems

Winchester Cathedral Choir, David Hill (conductor)

CDH55228Archive Service

‘Sung with sensitivity and vigour. Vocal ranges are perfectly suited to Robin Blaze and Stephen Varcoe. Dovetailing between the solo and vocal section ...
‘Hill breathes new life into Gibbons' musical and spoken rhetoric, using tempo and dynamics to set up conflicts between vocal lines. Perfectly complem ...» More

Gibbons: In chains of gold - The English pre-Restoration verse anthem, Vol. 1

Magdalena Consort, Fretwork, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts

Studio Master: SIGCD511Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

This glorious album is both a compendium of some of the finest English music ever written and a testimony to the power of superlative performance.» More

The Evening Hour

Jesus College Choir Cambridge, Mark Williams (conductor)

Studio Master: SIGCD446Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

The choir of Jesus College Cambridge contemplates the hours that take us from day into night in a programme of works by English composers from the sixteenth and twentieth centuries.» More

Details

Winchester Cathedral Choir, David Hill (conductor), Robin Blaze (countertenor), Sarah Baldock (organ)

Track 8 on CDH55228 [4'33] Archive Service

Jaliya Senanayake (tenor), Jesus College Choir Cambridge, Mark Williams (conductor), Benjamin Morris (organ)

Track 10 on SIGCD446 [5'30] Download only

Charles Daniels (tenor), Magdalena Consort, Fretwork

Track 1 on SIGCD511 [4'33] Download only

Track-specific metadata

Click track numbers above to select

[Return to top of page]